They Came From Outer Space Trivia Quiz

Answer: Flagstaff, AZ

Barringer Crater, near Flagstaff, AZ, was formed by a meteorite that impacted Earth about 50,000 years ago with the force of 2.5 tons of TNT. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 300,000 tons and been traveling 26 thousand miles per hour (41,843 kph). The crater is named for Daniel Barringer, a Philadelphia mining engineer. The crater measures almost 4,000 feet (1,219m) in diameter and is about 560 feet (170m) deep.

The crater was investigated in 1897 and it was concluded that the crater was created by a steam explosion, in spite of the large number of meteorite iron fragments near the crater. Barringer investigated the crater in 1902 looking for large deposits of iron. He found none but convinced the scientific community that the crater had been created by an asteroid.

Answer: False

Located in the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, Tenoumer Crater is over a mile (1.6km) wide and has a rim around it that is 360 feet (109m) high and is almost a perfect circle (as seen from space). It is a relatively new crater at between 10-20,000 years old.

Answer: Manicouagan Lake

Manicouagan Lake was formed by a meteorite about three miles (4.8km) wide. It is the sixth largest impact crater on Earth. Sometimes called "the eye of Quebec", the ancient crater contains a mountain, Mt. Babel, and an island, "René-Levasseur Island'.

Answer: Western Australia

Wolf Creek Crater is located in Western Australia. The Indigenous People believe this circular crater was formed when a giant mythological snake raised its head from the ground long ago.

Wolfe Creek Crater measures about half a mile (.8km) across and has a depth of about 200 feet (61m).

Answer: Tajikistan

The Lake, Lake Karakul, also known as Lake Siob, has an elevation of almost 13,000 feet (4000 meters) above sea level. The lake played host to the Roof of the World regatta from 2014 to 2017. It is the highest saltwater lake in Central Asia.

Tajikistan is a small, mostly mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia. Its capital is Dushanbe. It declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Answer: Chicxulub Crater

Chicxulub Crater is located beneath the Yucatan Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists estimate the crater's diameter to be over 90 miles (145 km).

When the dinosaur-killing asteroid, which likely measured around 7.5 miles (12 km) in diameter, hit Earth around 66 million years ago, the destruction caused by the impact was immense. It caused wild fires, and generated mile-high waves in a tsunami that reached halfway across the planet.

Answer: Lake Bosumtwi

Lake Bosumtwi is the only natural lake in Ghana. At about one million years old, it is one of the youngest impact craters on Earth. The crater/lake is approximately 6.5 miles (10.5km) in diameter.

Legend has it that, in 1648, an Ashanti hunter was chasing an injured antelope through the rainforest. Suddenly, the animal disappeared in a small pond. It was as if this body of water wanted to save the animal's life. The hunter never got the antelope. He named the place "Bosomtwe", meaning "antelope god".

Answer: Siberia, Russia

Thirty-five million years ago, an asteroid about 5-6 miles (8-9km) in diameter hit Earth near the Popigai River in Siberia. Traveling about 15 miles per second (4572 meters per second), the pressure created was enough to form diamonds. However, the pressure dissipated so rapidly that only diamond crystals had a chance to form. While the diamond crystals could be used as industrial diamonds, the crater is so remote that it has never been mined.

The Popigai Crater is the fourth largest impact crater on Earth.

Answer: Acraman Crater

Acraman Crater is in South Australia. It occurred about 590 million years ago. The crater was named after John Acraman, the founding father of football in South Australia.

The impact crater is deeply eroded. It was not confirmed as a meteorite impact until 1986.

Answer: Africa

Vredefort Crater in South Africa is the largest impact crater on Earth. It measures over 190 miles (305km) in diameter. The asteroid impacted Earth about 2 billion years ago. Scientists have estimated that the space rock measured between 12 and 15 miles (19 and 24km) wide and was traveling between 45 and 56,000 miles (72 and 90,000km) per hour.

These estimates put Vredefort about twice the size of Chicxulub and a lot faster. Because Vredefort's impact was so long ago, scientists can only estimate its size.